The WERRRK.com Interview: Astala Vista

Hi there Astala! How are you doing on this brisk fall evening my dear?

I’m doing wonderful Chiffon! I’m currently cuddled up under the blankets with my cats and a hot chocolate so it really doesn’t get much better than this! How about yourself?

Photo by Jimmy Boone

I’m doing just fine, cuddled up in bed with my Macbook and a little vodk…..um….hot chocolate also. Yeah, hot chocolate.

It’s only a problem if you acknowledge it

Or until the courts mandate something but we won’t talk about that. Let’s talk about you instead, specifically those super cute looks you were rocking for DragCon NYC a few weeks back!

Thank you so much! I recently got back into sewing/costuming and have been trying to add all sorts of new “Kitty Inspired” looks to my closet. I took sewing for 3 years back in high school and as a Drag Queen it’s really came in handy!

Photo by Jenn Witek

Meanwhile I can barely thread a needle…..on a good day. Where is the kitty motif stemming from?

Well about 5 years ago, my boyfriend and I moved in together and decided to adopt our first pet. We adopted a 3-legged cat named Triumph since we were both working a lot and knew he would be less responsibility than a dog. Than on my 21st birthday my boyfriend surprised me with a kitten and I was hooked. Next I wanted a hairless cat, which I saved up for and purchased within the year. Shortly after that, a local shelter was doing a $25 Black Friday special on black cats, and than I was up to 4. Throw in a few feral cat traps and Facebook posts of people re-homing their cats and I was officially a Crazy Cat Lady with 6 cats, fighting the urge to get a 7th every day. Somewhere in the mix of all of that, I fell in love with Drag and decided to combine a piece of my real life self with my Drag persona!

I’m totally not backing away from you in abject terror. I just left something in the other room. I swear.

If you see a boxful of Whiskers labeled “Bynx” I have no idea who it belongs to

So crazy cat lady stuff aside, what made you want to delve into the world of drag?

I’ve always had a love for theater and took acting classes up until 9th grade. I was in all of my schools plays, and was actually enrolled to attend a performing arts high school. Due to some unexpected circumstances, I moved right before 9th grade started and unfortunately wasn’t able to attend so I had to put theater to the back burner while I adjusted to a new town. Throughout High School I found a love for the beauty industry and attended cosmetology school shortly after. I went to my first Drag Show after my 21st birthday and was HOOKED! It was everything I loved about theater, beauty, and costuming all wrapped into one and I was so intrigued by the mystery of it all. The rest is her story!

Photo by Alexander John Photography

How did you decide on your drag name?

I was looking for the perfect blend of something campy but pretty. After trying and nixing a few tragedies (Catalina Coupons) off the list, Astala Vista came to me out of nowhere and I was all about it. I did a quick Google search to make sure it wasn’t taken and than made my debut shortly after!

How would you describe your drag-style to someone that hasn’t seen you perform, aside from cat-like presumably?

Very themed and theatrical, I love committing to a theme or a character in my numbers and creating a performance that takes somethings most serious qualities or parts and pokes fun at them.

Photo by Jimmy Boone

I guess that is a perfect segue to discuss your newest project that is dropping today, as the kids say. Would you care to spill the beans?

I’ll spill, I’ll Spill!!For the past two months I’ve been working on an all new kitty themed dance anthem titled Pussywalk! Originally I thought this was going to be a few lyrics typed up in a word document and that was it, but with a few crazy ideas, connections, and help from an incredibly talented team, Pussywalk developed into the song and campy music video you see today! (Now available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Google Play, and Tidal )

That sounds like the cat’s meow! You had mentioned a prior experience in theatre but what is your musical background?

Before this, absolutely none! I was ready to explore performing something other than mixes and decided to just dive on in claws first! You’re not going to be getting any Whitney Houston vocals from me anytime soon, but the whole process was an absolute blast and you can definitely expect to see more original material from Astala Vista in the future!

In the meantime, where can people follow you on the interwebs honey?

If you head toItsAstalaVista.com, I’ve got links to them all! (And an all new Pussywalk Merch tab) Instagram’s my favorite so be sure to follow me there @itsAstalaVista!There is def plenty more pussy than they can handle!

Thank you so much for you time tonight Astala. I hope your new song is a big success. Do you have any final words of wisdom for the WERRRK universe before you head back to your cats?

Of course, thank you! Just keep it cat-ty, never catty, and when all else fails, stomp the floor with your Pussywalk!